La Citadelle Nearing The Completion Of Restoration, The Historic Fort Is One Of Haiti`s Marvels Of Engineering, Construction And Scenic Beauty.

December 1, 1985|By Robert Tolf, Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel

I have been a collector of castles and forts since childhood, initially in miniature and within books; then capturing them with a camera as I explored highlands and lowlands, looking for another moat, another crenelated tower, another massive collection of impregnable -- at one time -- stone and brick.

The most recent addition to my collection came as a real surprise. I found it in northern Haiti, close to the city of Cap Haitien. There, 40 minutes away by car and 3,000 feet above sea level on a mountain prominence, sits La Citadelle Laferriere. It dominates the skyline and is surely one of the engineering and construction miracles of the 19th century.

It`s also a massive reminder of the kind of warfare waged a couple centuries ago when such forts were built on summits.

Northeast of the Citadelle two other, lesser forts can be seen and they, too, were put up by the Haitians wishing to defend their newly won freedom.

THE MAN WHO BUILT IT

Responsible for the gigantic undertaking was Henri Christophe, a remarkable figure of the time, born of free Negro parents on the English Caribbean island of St. Christopher, which he used as his name. Christophe was among the 800 black and mulatto volunteers who fought alongside American revolutionaries at the Battle of Savannah on Oct. 9, 1779.

When Haiti`s own insurrection broke out in 1791 as a revolt of slaves against their French masters, Christophe was working as a waiter in Cap Haitien. But in short order he was back in a different kind of uniform, distinguishing himself in battles against the French army and the planters.

It was a vicious, violent struggle, a holocaust. Within a few weeks of the outbreak of the slave revolt, 10,000 were dead and many tortured or mutilated; 2,000 whites were slaughtered and more than a thousand plantations were burned to the ground.

Cristophe`s commander was Francois Dominique Touissaint L`Ouverture, a former slave with tremendous talent. He had risen to the rank of general in the French army and by 1801 felt strong enough to declare the independence of his country and abolish slavery. But First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte sent an expedition of 25,000 men and 70 warships to defeat and depose L`Ouverture, who was brought to France`s Fort de Joux in chains. He died there in 1803.

Two other remarkable leaders immediately took his place, and by 1803 Gens. Dessalines and Petion, aided by an outbreak of yellow fever, had decimated the French, who lost half a hundred generals and some 45,000 troops.

The following year the first black republic was established. Dessalines was named president, then ``Emperor Jacques I,`` and, fearing return of the French, one of his first acts was to order the construction of fortifications across the country.

THIRTEEN YEARS OF BUILDING

Henri Christophe wasted no time. During the next 13 years, he directed Haitian architect Henry Barre`s efforts, supervising the labor of 20,000 men, mortaring stone and brick 3,100 feet into the sky, building 100,000 square feet of fortress, which was then armed with a couple hundred cannons, some weighing in at more than 10 tons.

Dessalines was assassinated in 1806 and Christophe replaced him as president of the republic, abolishing the short-lived monarchy. But the indomitable Christophe had imperial ambitions of his own and had himself proclaimed King Henri I at Cap Haitien in 1811.

Petion rebelled and ruled the southern half of the country, including the capital of Port-au-Prince. Christophe remained sovereign over the northern half and he ruled with a despotic hand.

SANS SOUCI PALACE

While horses and men were struggling to haul all the material to the peak of the rock face of the Citadelle, splitting logs lengthwise to serve as sleds for the cannons, other laborers, probably no better off than they were when slaves, were constructing Christophe`s palace, the magnificent Sans Souci at the base of the mountain.

The palace, set into an 18-acre natural amphitheater, was a visionary architectural effort to build a monument to match those of the colonial powers.

It was the administrative headquarters of the government, complete with mint, library, hospital, barracks, workshops, stables and quarters for staff and servants, all of it enclosed by iron grilles and stone walls. Built alongside was a royal chapel with an incredibly beautiful domed roof in the best baroque style. A unique hydraulic system provided running water for the many fountains, kitchens and flush toilets.

Sans Souci is where Christophe breathed his last. Suffering from a stroke in October 1820, he shot himself; some say with a silver bullet, some say with a gold one.

His successes were many, especially during the early years of his reign: compulsory public education patterned on the British system (a Quaker woman from Philadelphia was brought over to tutor his own children); revitalization of the farms and plantations; institution of a strict work-discipline ethic; promotion of honesty; and establishment of a solid currency.